"Would he?" said Belk, sullenly. "Let him if he likes. You seem to know Sir Rupert, madam."
"I? No; but I have heard about him."
"He's a hard man, what I've seen of him."
Mrs. Belswin was not going to discuss this subject with a servant like Belk, so she turned indifferently away as the train came into the station, and left him standing there, looking in sullen admiration at her graceful form in the dark garments she now affected.
When she was safely installed in a first-class carriage, her rustic admirer, who had seen personally after her luggage, appeared at the window with some newspapers.
"You'll want them to read, madam," he said awkwardly, as she thanked him. "I hope you'll have a pleasant journey."
"Thank you, Mr. Belk, I hope I shall."
"You'll be coming back soon I hope?"
He blurted out this question with a deep flush, and Mrs. Belswin stared at him with undisguised astonishment She could not understand the reason of this man's deference, for she judged it impossible that he could be so deeply in love with her as all his actions seemed to denote. Good-natured, however, when not crossed in any way, she replied politely, as the train moved off--
"I shall return in a fortnight."